As expected, Community Board 1 gave the New York Wheel and Empire Outlets project planned for the St. George waterfront its seal of approval in a vote by the full body on Tuesday night. The vote followed the unanimous vote in favor of the plan by the board's land-use committee last week.

But it's not that simple. Members of the panel have been seeking to impose conditions in exchange for giving their OK. Foremost among them is that the city spend all the revenue it earns leasing the site to the developers on Staten Island.

The committee even specified how it wants that money to be used: To widen Richmond Terrace and Bank Street and build an HOV lane on the Terrace; install "smart" traffic signals at key intersections in the vicinity; increase service on the Staten Island Ferry; restore areas of the coast damaged by Sandy and build a North Shore Greenway, among other things.

To which the Bloomberg administration might ask, "Is that all?"

The problem is those conditions come from the community board itself; they are not binding on the city. And the community board really has no way of enforcing them.

Vincent Accornero, chair of the land-use committee said, "It's up to us to now convince the borough president and Council delegation that those [stipulations] should be included in the final ULURP [Uniform Land Use Review Procedure]."

That final version would have to pass in the City Council and ultimately, the mayor would have to sign off on it.

It's a tall order, especially since such restrictive terms are unprecedented to the best of anyone's knowledge.

Councilman James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn), the senior member of the current Staten Island delegation and a candidate for borough president, said, "I can't recall seeing language like that [in a ULURP agreement]. I'm not saying it never happened; I just don't remember it."

He added, "I think the sentiment expressed is understandable — there needs to be an investment back into Staten Island by government, if we're creating this revenue. But in terms of actually being in the ULURP, and how you word it, I can't recall ever seeing that overt of language."

He said the principal objection to such an agreement on the part of the mayor and some Council members would probably be that it means "balkanizing the city's budget": All the revenue from a high-yield project on city property would be funneled to just one borough under the community board's terms.

However, because the mayor is such a strong supporter of this project, the ULURP process does offer Staten Island a "fleeting moment of leverage," in Mr. Oddo's words.

All kinds of projects involving land use, including the disposition of city-owned property, are required to go through the multi-step ULURP process. Review by the relevant community board, with attendant public hearing, is just one of those steps.

But technically, the community board's role is just advisory. It can only make a recommendation to the borough president on the application for the project. The borough president, in turn, makes his own recommendation to the City Planning Commission. The City Council has the ultimate say.

The community board does have influence in the process, however. So Community Board 1 has the chance to exert some leverage on the city and on the developers, both of whom seek the board's approval.

Mr. Oddo said, "We want to be able to win as many concessions for Staten Island as possible in that process."

The board has put itself on the record with a specific list of the concessions it's seeking. It'll be interesting to hear the response.

The administration wants the Wheel; Staten Islanders want substantial infrastructure improvements, most of which are needed to accommodate it. Let's make a deal.